Unless a truly budget-priced Air Force model is in the works, the TechDAS turntable lineup now seems complete: The recently introduced Air Force Zero ($450,000) is at the top, and the “affordable” Air Force V ($19,500) is at the bottom. The Air Force One, Two, and III turntables, all available in both standard and Premium versions, sit in the costly middle.
There’s no Air Force IV because in East Asia that number is considered bad luck—which also explains why Japanese golfers shout “Six!” when someone hooks a shot into an adjacent fairway (joke alert).
Yes, the Air Force V still costs a great deal, but consider the price difference between it and the Air Force One Premium ($145,000)—which, until recently, was the company’s flagship: Despite costing about 1/8 the price, the V retains two of that model’s three key features: an air-bearing platter and vacuum record hold down. (The third key feature—air suspension for the turntable as a whole—couldn’t be included at this price.) These are expensive design elements that probably would make an even less expensive Air Force model unfeasible, unless designer Hideaki Nishikawa chooses to offer a non-air bearing, non-vacuum hold-down turntable—which I believe he’s not likely to do.
Other than its use of an inboard AC synchronous motor in place of the outboard ones found throughout the rest of the Air Force line, the V mostly resembles the next model up in the line, the Air Force III ($28,000—or $39,500 for the Premium version).
What else accounts for the almost $10,000 price difference? Whereas the III’s chassis is machined from a solid aluminum block, the V’s chassis is bolted together using machined aluminum and Super Duralumin sections. That construction distinction is visible only from the sides, where bolt heads are visible.
The other major differences between the Air Force III and the Air Force V are in their drive systems and the construction of their platters. The III’s platter is machined from solid aluminum and driven by a belt around its periphery. The V’s platter is a lighter weight assemblage of inner and outer aluminum sections, driven by a belt around the inner platter. (The V’s chassis-mounted motor, which is also lower in torque than that of the III, is mounted in close proximity to the platter.) The V’s platter is mostly hollow—something I noticed while assembling the turntable: not a difficult chore, although you must carefully follow the instructions, especially when it comes to keeping clean the glass plate under the floating platter. Still, at approximately 15lb—about 7lb lighter than that of the III—the V’s attractive, black-anodized platter is substantial.
On the V as on the III, each of the chassis’ four corner pillars can accommodate a heavy machined armboard capable of holding up to a 12″ arm. TechDAS supplies one armboard; the others are optional ($2150 each), as is a record weight ($1520). The Air Force V is a compact turntable, approximately 12″ wide by 14″ deep by 7″ high and weighing 39lb. Its appearance might not appeal to those looking for bling, but I liked its no-nonsense squaredom, dominated in front by the large control panel that appears similar if not identical to the one on the III. (I also appreciated its comprehensive, well-organized, photo-rich instruction manual.)
The pump/power supply/air condenser unit that supplies pressurized air for the bearing and the vacuum hold-down system, and which also contains the motor-control electronics (said to incorporate a two-phase power amplifier) is a compact, attractive, brushed-aluminum box approximately 13″ wide by 11″ deep by 7″ high. TechDAS supplies generous lengths of tubing so you can place it far from the turntable, but it’s essentially silent, so where you place it isn’t an issue, and it powers on from the control panel, so you don’t have to bother with it once it’s installed and plugged in. You can place it in “standby” mode by holding down the “stop” button, or after about an hour it will automatically park itself in “standby” mode.
TechDAS supplies an acrylic platter cover that you’re smartly advised to place over the platter when the V is not in use, to keep it dust free. It’s also a good idea to wipe the V’s relatively soft platter surface with a microfiber cloth before record play, or use an In the Groove-type tacky roller accessory—a product that’s made for records, although I use it only for platter cleaning. If you’re concerned about embedding dirt into the record side that contacts the vacuum platter, please get over it! I’ve used the Continuum Caliburn turntable’s vacuum hold-down system for more than a decade, and it hasn’t made my records noisy. I’m hooked on vacuum hold down!
The Air Force V does not offer speed adjustment other than its factory-adjusted 33 1/3 and 45rpm settings. As you can see from the Feickert Platterspeed app measurements, the V ran at the correct speed and low-pass filtered relative and absolute deviation from speed were very, very good, 45rpm measurements equally so. The platter reached speed within less than 10 seconds of startup, though the Lock indicator usually took close to 30 seconds to illuminate.
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COMPANY INFO
TechDAS/Stella Inc.
US distributor: Graham Engineering
25M Olympia Avenue
Woburn, MA 01801
(781) 932-8777
graham-engineering.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS
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Specifications
Associated Equipment
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